Primary Supervisor: Dr Doaa Hanafy
Location: Wagga Wagga
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, aging, cell culture, gene expression, neuroprotective, neurodegeneration, protein expression
Research Group: Food as Medicine Research Group
Synopsis:
Neurodegeneration is a major pathological feature of many disorders collectively known as neurodegenerative disorders that include, but not limited to, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. Millions of people are affected by neurodegenerative disorders worldwide. AD is a multifactorial progressive disease characterised by cholinergic neuronal apoptotic death in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex in the brain responsible for memory, learning and cognition. Hence, a declining capacity to recall new information is one of the early signs of AD. Current pharmacotherapeutics are only palliative.
Plants and their secondary metabolites are a promising source for drug discovery for improving memory and cognitive performance. Hence, the search for natural neuroprotective agents targeting the factors that lead to AD development, such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, accumulation of abnormal proteins, is essential. A number of cell-free and enzyme inhibition assays along with cell culture-based assays are utilised. In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis are carried out to determine the effect on the gene and protein expressions of the signalling pathways implicated in the disease.
Interested? Start the conversation here by contacting Dr Doaa Hanafy